Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1508769
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM OCT. 7, 2023 53 and lost to Columbia, 21-20. The Irish decisively defeated the Cadets, 27-7, at Notre Dame Stadium. Notre Dame's bid for supremacy came down to the season finale against USC at the Los Angeles Coliseum, and Lujack and his mates crushed the undefeated and No. 3-ranked Trojans, 38-7, to com- plete a 9-0 season and win their second straight national title. Days later, Lujack won the Heisman Trophy. Frank Tripucka took over at quarter- back for Lujack in 1948, but still had a wealth of talent around him, including Sitko, who would rush for 742 yards, Fischer at tackle and 1949 Heisman Tro- phy winner Hart and Martin at the ends. The Irish got off to a shaky start, barely getting past a Purdue team headed toward a 3-6 season. But they righted the ship and mowed down the next several opponents. They had a close call, 12-7, against a top-10 North- western team, and stood 9-0 heading out to a second consecutive trip to USC to end the season on Dec. 4. The battle for the '48 national crown was with Michigan and its first-year head coach Bennie Oosterbaan. The teams played five common opponents, and the Wolverines had a much easier time with Purdue (40-0) and North- western (28-0). They were safe in the clubhouse at 9-0 after a season-ending 13-3 win at No. 18 Ohio State, while the Irish headed to Los Angeles. Still, an impressive victory by Notre Dame at the Coliseum could have proved enough to sway the voters. The Trojans came into the match at 6-3, having lost to Ohio State (20-0), Oregon (8-7) and Cal (13-7). But they were on a bit of a roll, having dispatched Washington (32-7) and UCLA (20-13) in their two previous games. Ball security would prove to be a problem for the normally sure-handed Irish. Terry Brennan fumbled the open- ing kickoff, one of six lost fumbles for Notre Dame that day. In the second quarter, Hart displayed his skills with a nifty run after hauling in a Tripucka pass for a 7-0 lead. But Tripucka left the game with an injury and an interception thrown by Bob Williams stopped one Irish drive. The Trojans tied the score early in the fourth quarter, then charged ahead, 14-7, with 2:30 to play. Irish sophomore Bill Gay made a scin- tillating return of the ensuing kickoff, taking it to USC's 12-yard line, and Sitko bulled over from a yard out with 30 sec- onds left. Steve Oracko nailed the extra point for a 14-14 tie. Oracko then recov- ered his own onside kick and the Irish threatened to win, but Williams' pass to Martin was knocked away at the USC goal line as time expired. A s i f t h e ga m e wa s n 't exc i t i n g enough, the crowd of 100,000 had a jolt as they exited the Coliseum, when an earthquake rolled through the area, causing some minor injuries. The Irish (9-0-1) had extended their unbeaten streak to 28 games, but it wasn't enough to overshadow Michi- gan's season-long excellence, and the Wolverines walked off with the national championship. ✦ The Knute Rockne Memorial Society wishes to congratulate the 2023 Rockne Award recipients Thom Gatewood '72 Living Legend Award Kevin Corrigan Champion Award Missy Conboy '82 Leadership Award Jack Nolan Communicator Award Larry Dwyer '66 Dis nguished Service Award Michael Leep Community Leader Award Jim Augus ne Heritage Award The Knute Rockne Memorial Society wishes to thank all who helped make the 2023 Knute Rockne Spirit of Sports Awards Celebra on a great success. We appreciate your par cipa on and support. Relive this great event by visi ng www.RockneSociety.org Jim Lefebvre is an award-winning Notre Dame author and leads the Knute Rockne Memorial Society. He can be reached at: jim@ndfootballhistory.com